If you've ever looked at your dog and thought, wow, your life is great, what I would give for my life to be that easy. Well, I believe we can learn from dogs, and I'm writing a blog, with my dog Daisy, to teach people how to make life that easy.
Actually I started this blog to sell my e-books Jackpot and The Band, but that has now turned into a side gig.
Post for post Daisy and I are tackling life's challenges and world problems.
This is Discussions With My Dog.
Today we were discussing self-help books.
These are books, often written by celebrities that instruct you how to improve yourself. There are two schools of thought about self-help books; the first is they are written by a bunch of charlatans who are just cashing in on your insecurities. The second is that if you follow their advice you can improve your life in ways you would never have imagined yourself. Another interesting comparison is that self-help books are a bit like tattoos. Either you have never read a single one, or the chances are you’ve bought about a dozen.
Self-help books cover a relatively small number of aspirational categories, how to make yourself wealthy, how to gain confidence and how to lose weight. So, I asked Daisy, do you know any people who are (i) poor, (ii) shy or a bit insecure or (iii) fat? Daisy looked at me to say ‘I certainly do. Unless you hadn’t noticed Dad, you could lose a few pounds yourself’. So clearly self-help books aren’t reaching everyone.
Daisy, being a dog has never read a book. When she was going through her puppy stage, she did chew up a couple of books, leaving a large soggy pile of confetti on the carpet. Nevertheless, there are a few things that she can tell us all about being happy.
It’s very easy to observe what makes Daisy happy or excited, roughly in this order;
- Foxes, cats, squirrels or other furry animals
- The lead
- The food-bowl
- A tennis ball
I shall explain these things in comparative human terms.
- Know your enemies. Do not take any shit from these people (another warning - please avoid inflicting violence or other criminal or anti-social activity). If someone does something that offends you or is behaving like a dick, don’t accept it, tell them.
- Going for a walk or other form of exercise is actually quite good for you.
- Eating is also good for you. Daisy likes to keep a good balance between (2) and (3).
- Daisy doesn’t retrieve the tennis ball like a Labrador or a Spaniel would, she carries it round with her for the whole walk. I think the lesson here is if you have something of value, take care of it.
Daisy says "chill"
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